


Not Done Yet

by InvisibleAce



Category: Julie and The Phantoms (TV 2020)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Gender Changes, F/F, Female Friendship, Flirting, Fluff, Inspired by Fanart, Light Angst, Not Beta Read, jatp but everyone's a girl ayo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-10
Updated: 2021-03-10
Packaged: 2021-03-17 15:09:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,006
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29968254
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/InvisibleAce/pseuds/InvisibleAce
Summary: A quick retelling of Julie and The Phantoms but the phantoms, well, they're girls(inspired by teresa_guarnido's amazing af fanart over on instagram)
Relationships: Alex Mercer/Willie (Julie and The Phantoms), Julie Molina/Luke Patterson
Comments: 2
Kudos: 20





	Not Done Yet

**Author's Note:**

> ~ women ~ 
> 
> Just my take on the Julie and The Phantoms gender swap AU. I'm not sure if there's, like, fan assigned names for these gals but I got the name Lou (for Luke) from teresa_guarnido and Willow (Willie) from them and thesunwillart during a lil story moment. Please check out both these amazing artists, they're both so good. 
> 
> For any confusion:  
> Lou - Luke  
> Riley - Reggie  
> Alex - Alex  
> Bobbi - Bobby 
> 
> oh, yeah, bobb(i/y) is a ghost too ehehe

This was it. 

Years of proving themselves, proving that a band of four girls would just be as good as a band of dudes. After years of venues laughing in their face, the looks of uncertainty as they took the stage to the laughable looks of surprise at bows— it was all worth it. 

Sunset Curve was playing The Orpheum tomorrow night and the nerves were starting to hit. 

Alex had it the worst, she would spend hours pacing around the studio as Riley plucked at her bass completely zoned out. Bobbi, bless her heart, had been trying her best to keep them all sane. Between Alex’s anxiety, Riley’s lack of confidence and Lou pushing for even more practice she had her hands full. But to Lou, they had to be perfect. 

Lou Patterson wanted nothing but the perfect show. Sometimes she just gets so caught up in the moment that she often forgets to take her bandmates feelings into account. 

“This is it ladies,” Bobbi said as she entered the studio. “One more sleep until our lives change forever.” 

Riley let out a whoop, Alex smiling through the anxiety they all knew was threatening to consume her. Lou was strumming mindlessly on her guitar, running through their set list in her mind as Bobbi joined Riley and Alex on the couch. Soon she’ll force them all to start practicing but not right now. Call her crazy but she felt like they were ready. There was such a thing about over practicing. Every inch of her itched to have them play their setlist again, stay up all night perfecting it, but she fought against it. 

Maybe tonight should be spent celebrating. All the years of hard work is finally paying off thanks to Bobbi’s uncle finally getting through to the manager of the Orpheum. Trevor, her brother, always mocked them for trying so hard. He always enjoyed saying that an all girl rock band shouldn’t exist and that the very idea was laughable. 

Lou smirked, who's laughing now Trevor? 

Tomorrow night will also be the night where all four of them prove their parents wrong. While Alex’, Bobbi’s and Riley's parents never cared about their daughters being in a band, Lou’s parents cared a little too much. Her mom, Emily, would get on her case whenever she could— often leading to a fight between the two. Her mom firmly believed that the world of rock and roll was meant for guys and guys only. That it was no place for women. The condensing comments would always be followed by,  _ but I love you Louise.  _

No one calls her Louise. She hates that name. 

Lou put her guitar down, hopping off her stool and grabbed her flannel. She turned to her friends, who were all watching her with curious expressions. 

“Going somewhere?” Alex asked. 

“C’mon, we’re gonna go get pizza and sit on the beach,” Lou said. 

“What about practice?” Riley asked the same time Bobbi gasped out: “Are you feeling okay?” 

Lou rolled her eyes, tossing each of the girls their jackets as they stood, “I feel fine— really good, actually. I don’t wanna spend the last night of being nobodies in the studio.” 

“Welp, don’t need to tell me twice,” Bobbi smiled and slung an arm around Alex’s shoulders, “Pizza and a beach hang out it is.” 

* * *

Maybe Trevor was the one who was still laughing. 

_ They died.  _ All four of them because of Lou’s stupid plan to get street dogs. 

The kicker was that Bobbi wasn’t even going to go with them, too busy flirting with one of the employees. She had quickly changed her mind though, stating that she couldn’t have her friends go into some weird alley alone. 

They were two hours away from playing the show that would change their lives for the better. They were two hours away from proving everyone wrong. They were two hours away from showing the world that women belong in the rock and roll scene just as much as men do. 

And they _ died. _

The afterlife was terrible. The dark room they appeared in was something straight out of a nightmare. Alex had started crying immediately, dropping to the floor and hugging her knees to her chest. Riley tried to comfort her but her attempts lacked their usual heart. Their usual upbeat friend seemed to be in a trance, chewing on her lower lip and zoning out into space. Lou busied herself with trying to find a way out, walking the perimeter of the room while Bobbi stood still as a statue with her arms crossed. 

Time was at a standstill. Lou had no way of knowing when one day ended and another began— not that dead people needed to know such a thing. Not knowing what was happening, being stuck in endless darkness was starting to get to her. Claustrophobia clawed at her throat. They needed to get out of here. 

But there was light shining through the dark, taking form in a girl named Julie. 

Lou had stopped trying to figure out how long it had been since they appeared in the dark room, joining her friends on the floor when suddenly they were all free falling. She could faintly hear the sound of their demo playing over her own screams mixed in with her friends. 

Landing on a concrete floor still hurts even when you’re dead. 

Lou did find out how long they were stuck in the god awful room. It wasn’t a few hours like she had thought but twenty-five years. 

They’ve been dead for  _ twenty-five years _ . 

The universe fucking sucked. 

In all honesty, Lou’s afterlife had become more eventful and exciting than her actual life. It started when Alex had met Willow, instantly falling for the other girl. Bobbi had learned the heartbreaking news that Trevor, the bastard, had stolen a good chunk of Sunset Curves songs and passed them off as his own. Riley spent the rest of the night trying to calm their friend down. 

They did go to his house. They may or may not have broken a few things and scared the shit out of Trevor in the process. 

It was with it to see Bobbi smile so wide. 

Willow had mentioned that she knew a ghost, Caleb, who could make them visible to lifers outside Julie so they could confront Trevor face-to-face. They could really scare the crap out of him then. They had all been for the idea. 

The Hollywood Ghost Club was a dream come true and Caleb was such a chill, well, ghost. 

“This place gives me the creeps,” Bobbi said under her breath, just loud enough for Lou to hear her. “And that Caleb dude seems  _ too _ nice.” 

Lou almost blamed her friend's wariness on the fact that she had never had a positive adult figure in her life. Her parents were never around, often out of the state on work or just lavish vacations. They would leave her behind to fend for herself. Bobbi raised herself from the young age of ten. 

When they went to leave, Caleb tried to stop them but Bobbi was quick to glare at the man. She stood in front of them, raising an eyebrow when he went to shake their hands. 

They left without a handshake but promised to come back and visit soon. 

Something that really made their afterlife worth it was the change of view about women in various music scenes. Julie had explained it to them in one of their late night hang outs where she would get them up to date with the world. Lou was on cloud nine when she had heard that women are respected more in music now, even though it was far from perfect. 

They could actually have a fair chance this time— and they did. Julie and The Phantoms became an overnight success after they played together at Julie’s school. 

“What was it like, trying to make it in music during the 90s?” Julie asked one night. 

It was just Lou and her at the studio. Alex had gone off with Willow and Riley was busy joining Ray with making dinner, Bobbi joining her. The two of them planned on songwriting, and they did manage to get a few solid lines for Stand Tall, but soon their attention was led somewhere else. 

The two of them were sprawled out on the floor, lying shoulder to shoulder while staring up at the chairs on the ceiling. Their songbooks laid by their heads, Julie’s glitter pens scattered around them. 

Lou sighed, “It was a constant headache. Everytime it looked like we were getting somewhere there would be something else blocking us. No one believed that an all girl rock group was worth listening to.” 

“I’m sorry, that must’ve been really frustrating. Everything I’ve seen made it look like it wasn’t so, well, sexist.” 

Lou let out a tired laugh, “Everything is sexist my dear. We also didn’t look like your typical run of the mill late nineties women.” 

“What do you mean? You all look like women to me,” Julie raised an eyebrow while wrinkling her nose and Lou’s heart did a flip in her chest. 

“Lesbians. We all looked like a bunch of lesbians.” 

Julie let out one of her adorable snort laughs. Her eyes shut and her whole body shook with laughter. Lou couldn’t help the grin that took over her face at the sound. 

“I guess the flannels and short hair doesn’t help,” Julie  _ giggled _ , “Alex could maybe pass as a straight person. Until she’s around a pretty girl.” 

“It’s your funeral if she hears you say that,” Lou shook her head, “Bobbi is our token straight but, honestly, she’s had some questionable moments.” 

Julie rolled over into her side, head propped up in her hand, “As morbid as it is I’m really glad you guys died and came into my life. This time you actually have a chance… and so do I.” 

“You would’ve made it big without us Jules,” Lou lazily turned her head towards the other girl, “But I’m glad you’re doing it with us.” 

Julie smiled back as she reached out but stopped mid way. Her hand hovered in between them. Lou kept her eyes on Julie as she reached her own hand out, knowing it would go right through but dammit she wants to hold this beautiful girl's hand. 

They watched in silence as Lou’s hand passed through Julie’s, a wave of emotion briefly flowed through Lou. It felt like longing but fondness. She bit her lip to stop herself from smiling. She really liked how their hands looked together, even if they weren’t actually holding hands. 

“This is an interesting little relationship you and I have,” Lou’s gaze left their hands and up to Julie’s face, who was already looking at her. 

“Getting more interesting everyday,” Julie mumbled as Riley and Bobbi appeared in the studio. 

“Dinners ready!” Riley chirped. 

Julie dropped her hand, sitting up with a groan, “Is it spaghetti again?” 

“Yep,” Bobbi answered, “But we snuck some actual flavoring in while your dad wasn’t looking.” 

“Thank you,” Julie looked so sincere, “Best ghost friends ever.” 

“Don’t you forget it!” Riley called after Julie as the girl left the studio. 

Lou sat up, grabbing her song book and Julie’s pens as she did. She placed them carefully on the coffee table before collapsing onto the couch. Bobbi carelessly lifted her head, took a seat and placed her head in her lap. Lou smiled and let her eyes slip shut before she made herself comfortable on her friend's lap as the sound of Riley playing her bass filled the studio. 

“I can feel you staring at me,” Lou didn’t bother opening her eyes. 

“So, you and Julie huh?” 

“I don’t know what you mean Bobbers.” 

A snort. It wasn’t nearly as cute as Julie’s. 

“You two were practically holding hands while staring deeply into each other's eyes,” Riley supplied. 

Lou opened her eyes at that, turning to look over at the bassist, “ _ Staring deeply _ ?” 

Riley shrugged, “I feed off detail.” 

Bobbi laughed, the kind of laugh that made her throw her head back. Lou shook her head, heaving herself into a sitting position but still leaning against Bobbi’s side. 

“I mean, yeah I guess we were having a moment but if anything it was a slap in the face about how we can’t be together. Like  _ actually  _ be together,” Lou rubbed at her eyes. 

“Why not?” Riley sounded genuinely confused. 

“If you haven’t noticed Ry, we’re made out of air and Julie isn’t. You can’t really do much with a partner who you can’t even touch.” 

“So a relationship solely needs touching to work?” Bobbi countered. 

Lou groaned, standing while glaring at her smartass friends, “No, of course not, but having the option of touching is always good. Plus  _ cuddling _ is a huge part of any relationship— platonic or romantic.” 

“She’s got you there,” Riley pointed. 

Bobbi just nodded, looking like she was thinking something over but she only shrugged to herself before standing and joining Riley over at their instruments. 

“There’s some new parts of Stand Tall I wanna show you guys,” Lou changed the subject. She couldn’t deal with the stabbing pain of sadness right now. 

Nothing getting lost in music couldn’t fix. 

* * *

If Lou wasn’t deeply infatuated with Julie, and if Willow was deeply infatuated with Alex, Lou would drop down on one knee and ask that woman to marry her. 

Alex had appeared in the studio after one of her date-but-not-a-date with Willow. There was a weird air about her. She had tried to look casual as she took a seat behind her drums but the smile that would force its way onto her face every few minutes was just one of the many things that gave her away. 

She’s a lot of things, like a fantastic friend and an amazing drummer but there’s one thing she’s not: a good liar. 

“What’s up with you ‘Lexie,” Bobbi asked, “You haven’t stopped tapping that same drum for, like, five minutes.” 

“And you’re smiling like you have a secret,” Riley raises an eyebrow. “Spill.” 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Alex tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear and shrugged, “Willow’s coming to rehearsal today. I’m just excited to see her.” 

“You saw her yesterday though,” Lou pointed out. 

Alex raised an eyebrow, “You see Julie everyday and grin like an idiot whenever she walks in the room.” 

Lou felt her ears go red, hating the fact that apparently ghosts can still blush. She cleared her throat, sparing Julie, who looked up from her homework with a bashful smile, a glance before turning back to her friend, “Your point?” 

Alex was saved from answering by Willow phasing through the studio doors with a loud greeting. She took her helmet off and kicked up her skateboard in one fluent motion— an easy grin on her face the entire time. 

“Sup?” 

“Hey Willow,” Bobbi greeted before going back to her songwriting. Julie was sitting beside her at the coffee table, not too subtly glancing at the book every now and then. 

Willow made her way over to Alex behind the drums, taking a seat on her lap. Lou snickered at how red Alex’s face got. Maybe it was a good thing ghosts could still blush. This was too comical. 

“Did you tell them yet?” Willow asked. 

“Nah,” Alex cleared her throat. “I figured you could.” 

“I knew you were hiding something!” Riley accused. “Liar.” 

Bobbi sighed, closing her book before crossing her arms over her chest, “Do tell.” 

“So, I may or maynot have been messing around with some lifers, y'know— scaring them and shit,” Willow explained, “There was this van right? Like, I’m guessing they were a band because there was a logo on the side and instruments and it smelled kinda like mayo.” 

Julie wrinkled her nose, “Gross.” 

“Right? Anyways. I overheard them talking about one of their upcoming gigs and I thought it was pretty impressive but not impressive enough to stop me from messing with ‘em.” 

Lou shared a look with Riley, who looked just as lost as she felt, “And?” 

Willow shrugged, “I drove their van out into the middle of the desert, might have broken a few things with the engine  _ and then _ I went to the Orpheum and left them the contact info for Julie and The Phantoms.” 

Lou blinked, staring at Willow as Alex pressed a kiss to the back of her head and the girl looked so proud of herself. Lou looked over at Riley, who seemed dazed before Bobbi let out a laugh of surprise. 

“ _ The Orpheum _ ?” She stood, hands in her hair and smiling wider than Lou has ever seen, “You messed up some poor bands chance at playing the Orpheum? For  _ us _ ?” 

“Well, yeah,” Willow looked sheepish, “When you put it that way it sounds kinda mean but this could be your unfinished business. ‘Lex and I were talking about it.” 

“Dude, who cares about the other band. It’s the Orpheum! We have a second chance!” Riley sounded breathless. 

Lou didn’t know what to feel. She was stoked because of the Orpheum—  _ holy shit the Orpheum!—  _ but the mention of their unfinished business made her hesitate. She looked over at Julie, who was grinning and jumping around with Riley. 

If Willow was right and this was their unfinished business she would have to say goodbye to Julie. Lou doesn’t think she’s ready for that just yet. 

The sound of Julie’s phone ringing filled the studio, making them all pause and stare at it. 

“How’d you get my phone number?” Julie asked Willow. 

“I’m tech savvy as hell,” Willow smirked. “Now answer your phone!” 

Julie scrambled to pick it up, answering it probably a little too hastily. Lou walked over to her, everyone else following as Julie spoke to the person on the other end. Bobbi had an arm wrapped around Riley, Alex looked like she was about to start pacing but Willow’s hand in hers kept her in place. Lou wet her lips and got a little closer, straining to hear the other end of the conversation. 

“Yeah… of course. We’ll be there— thank you so much!” Julie chirped before hanging up. She sucked her lips in, a small smile on her face as she wrung her phone in her hands. 

“So?” Alex said anxiously, “Was that the Orpheum?” 

Julie placed her phone in her back pocket before jumping onto the coffee table while shouting, “We’re playing the Orpheum tomorrow night!” 

Cheers erupted from their friends. Bobbi and Riley started doing questionable dance moves while screaming thank yous at Willow. Alex hugged said girl, grinning like a madwoman. Julie jumped off the table, landing right in front of Lou. 

Lou who was so fucking conflicted. She was excited and beyond grateful that Willow did this for them— the excitement will hit her full force later tonight and then the anxiety will happen. But right now, staring at Julie, all she could feel was the inevitable heartbreak that she thought she could avoid for a little while longer. 

“Ready to come up with the best set list that theater will ever hear?” Julie bounced on her toes. 

Lou smiled, and it wasn’t even that forced, “You know it.” 

* * *

It was exhilarating. It was everything Lou had thought it would be and more. 

Julie looked amazing in her dress, Flynn really out doing herself with the jacket. Lou and the others had rocked some suits with their own personal touches. Flynn had insisted that they dress a little better than usual— this was a huge deal and flannels, sleeveless shirts and jean jackets won’t cut it this time. 

Lou may have retaliated by cutting the sleeves off her jacket  _ and _ dress shirt. Thanks to Willow she knows how to focus her energy enough to hold things. Flynn hasn’t been happy but she wasn’t able to see them without music anyway, and she couldn’t exactly jump onto the stage to yell at her. It was a win-win situation… for Lou anyway. 

After the performance was done though they didn’t know what to expect. Riley has voiced her concern about crossing over, about how none of them knew what really waited for them on the other side. Bobbi had promised through all their anxieties that they’ll stick together. 

They poofed back to the studio, all of them sprawling out on the floor in the dark. Lou had missed this feeling, the bone deep exhaustion that came after playing with your entire heart and soul.

“Now what?” Alex asked, voice barely above a whisper. 

“I… I don’t know,” Riley answered back, “Isn’t there usually some bright light we should walk towards? Like in the movies?” 

“Or would we just slowly fade out of existence?” Lou wondered out loud. 

Bobbi stood up and stretched, “What if the Orpheum wasn’t our unfinished business though? I don’t think I’m ready to go just yet.” 

Lou wholeheartedly agreed with her friend. There was so much left to learn about the world. Sure they may not belong in this time period, being the age they are, but why bring them back in the first place if not? All four of them, while their home lives not being the best and all around sucky, wanted to find their families. Find out what became of them at least. 

She wanted more time with Julie. 

Speaking of, the doors of the studio opened and Julie walked inside. She stopped just at the doorway, reaching over for the light switch. Her eyes were wide as the lights flickered on. 

“Oh thank god,” She gasped. Her eyes were wet. “I was really hoping you would still be here.” 

Bobbi chuckled, “Doesn’t seem like we’re done just yet.” 

Julie sniffled, walking in further into the studio. Lou stood, Alex and Riley following, “If you’re glad we’re still here why are you crying?” 

“Because I never got to tell you guys how much you mean to me,” Julie wiped at her eyes. “I just… I love you guys.” 

That was said before Julie launched herself at Lou. 

Lou didn’t even think twice about reaching out and catching her. Tears welled up in her own eyes at Julie’s confession. She adored this girl so much. She never met someone outside her band that she just  _ clicked  _ with. Julie got her in a way that no one else bothered to get to know. Julie and Lou were able to speak everything they needed through their music and the message was always received loud and clear. 

Beside her closed eyelids there was a quick bright flash before warmth washed over her. Which was odd. She hasn’t felt temperature since… since she died. There was also the weight of someone resting on her, someone that was too short to be one of the girls. There were arms wrapped around her neck, curls tickling her chin and cheeks. 

Julie was hugging her and Lou was hugging her back. 

They both seemed to realize at the same time, taking a step back but keeping a hold on each other. Lou reached up and cupped Julie’s face, wiping under her eyes with the pads of her thumbs. 

“How… how can I touch you?” Julie gasped, her eyes filled with bewilderment. 

“I-I don’t know,” Lou answered before looking back at the others, “I feel  _ warm.  _ I feel stronger.” 

“Come here,” Julie told the others, her hold on Lou’s arms tightening before moving to make room for the others in their hug. 

The light this time was ten times as bright. Lou knew the exact time the warmth washed over her friends, their gasps were pure shock. 

“What do you think this means?” Riley whispered. 

“I think we’re here to stay,” Lou felt her smile growing. She locked eyes with Julie across the circle, “This band isn’t going anywhere.” 

Maybe the universe doesn’t suck, just for this once. 


End file.
